A devastating fire has been raging for more than five hours at the warehouses of Adams Cap and Zhihong Medical Company in the Chattogram Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) Link Road area, with 19 firefighting units from the Fire Service and the Bangladesh Navy struggling to bring it under control.

The blaze broke out around 2:10pm on Thursday, and firefighters reached the scene within two minutes, at 2:12pm, after receiving the report.

According to officials, 19 units from the Bangladesh Navy, CEPZ Fire Station, Port Fire Station, Korean EPZ (KEPZ), and Agrabad Fire Station are jointly working to douse the flames. The site is located roughly one kilometre from the nearest fire station. Two platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have also joined the rescue efforts.

Deputy Director of Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence Mohammad Jasim Uddin confirmed the incident, saying the fire spread rapidly and turned intense before firefighters could bring it under control.

Due to the intensity of the blaze, the sixth and seventh floors of the building have partially collapsed, officials said. It has been learned that a chemical storage facility is located on the fifth floor, raising concerns that the fire could become even more severe if it reaches that area.

Sources at the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) said around 700 workers were employed at the facility. All workers and staff were safely evacuated immediately after the fire broke out, and no casualties have been reported so far.